Cutting the Cord: Goodbye to Cox Cable

Static Noise by Douglas Cootey on Flickr

After 3+ years as a Cox cable customer (and 3 years before that as a Time Warner customer and probably 3 years before that as a Cox (?) customer in Maryland and Virginia ... and I can't even guess what the cable company was called in Stillwater, but say another 2 years there after I moved out of the dorms), I've been talked into cutting the cord. It isn't that we can't afford to keep it. It's that we're choosing not to.

Our promotional rate, which was the bundle for phone, internet and cable, expired. And the customer service rep didn't care to renegotiate with us like they did last year. So the logical thing to do, rather than pay $200+ for all three services was to drop cable, especially as it's the most expensive and we get a discount on the internet no matter what (thanks, LSU).

I mainly use cable for the DVR -- and I watch network shows, some USA, TNT and TBS. That's it. I don't watch HGTV or Food Network anymore. I also couldn't record all the shows I wanted (only two at a time, and Wednesday has become a packed night for shows I like). We rarely watch sports. It seems like a lot to pay for content that's mostly available otherwise streaming on the Internet.

Or that I could learn to do without.

Yikes.

The cable was supposed to be cut off on Wednesday. So far it hasn't, but I know I'll dissolve a bit when it does. And I have until next Wednesday or Thursday to return the cable box.

Because of the Olympics my regular shows aren't even on. Next week, the first one without cable and with new episodes of my shows will be my true test. We should still have over-the-air access to the network stations, but I can't get to the TV by 7 when prime time starts. And with no way to even record my favorites (like, is a VCR even a possibility any more?) I'm going to be relying heavily on weeks later streaming online, which I know doesn't work for every show.

I really wish I had a hookup for the TV that would make it like a computer screen, i.e. that I could connect to network websites and watch shows that way once they're available. I have a Roku (thanks, Grandma Dale), so I can watch Amazon Prime and other content (PBS, etc.) on the TV but it doesn't provide a full browsing experience.  I've been looking at stand-alone DVRs, which you would think exist as a replacement for VCRs, and haven't been able to find one that seems right (or that doesn't have a monthly fee attached -- without even giving access to content).

I am trying not to be a sheep. But gosh, I love being a sheep and having my TV content available when I'm ready for it.